This invention relates to bait stations to preclude or control the infestation of ants and more particularly to a bait station that is designed to be single piece structure capable of syphoning the liquid bait from a bottle or receptacle and the single piece structure then serves as the bait station.
As one skilled in this art appreciates there have been a sundry attempts to preclude, reduce, control, etc. the infestation of ants, particularly, the well known Pharaoh or Sugar ants (Monomorium pharaonis (L). One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,096 granted to Rudolph on Oct. 6, 1992 entitled xe2x80x9cBait Stationxe2x80x9d. This patent discloses a bottle or receptacle that is pre-filled with a specific bait formulation and the opening in the bottle is arranged so that the ant must come into contact with the IGB bait prior to coming into contact with the insecticide. Hence, the receptacle is pre-filled with the IGB and insecticide formulae and the receptacle may be closed at one both ends and cut open upon use.
Another common method for control of these ants is to obtain a bottle of a liquid insecticide and pouring, usually a drop or so, in the area where there is a likelihood that the population migrates. Often, the drop is placed on the top of counters in the home, restaurant, etc. These insecticides are commercially available. Some of the problems occasioned with the use of this type of insecticide is that it is difficult to pour the desired amount in a given location, for example, a corner of the wall where the counter top meets, the liquid insecticide becomes hard over time and is difficult to remove and the like.
U. S. Pat. No. 5,875,586 granted on Mar. 2, 1999 to Ballard et al entitled xe2x80x9cliquid Bait Stationxe2x80x9d discloses a structure formed in a rectangular configuration including a series or plurality of inner walls which minimizes the leakage of the liquid bait in the event it becomes disoriented. This bait station is refillable. As will be appreciated from the description to follow, in comparison to the present invention, this bait station is complex and would be more expensive to make than what is disclosed in the present invention.
This invention is concerned with liquid insecticides and of the type that one can obtain commercially and that is stored in a bottle or receptacle. I have found that a syphon type of bait station made from one piece that is capable of sucking up the liquid insecticide from the bottle and the tip or stem of the bottle being cut off or removed obviates the problems noted in the immediate above paragraphs. Typically the bait station syphon combination includes a bulbous end and a stem with a graduated opening with the narrow portion at the end. After the insecticide is syphon out of the bottle, the liquid is suck into the bulbous section, the stem is removed and the bulbous section now serves as the bait station. It is apparent that the bait station is easy to handle without soiling or contaminating the hands, person and/or clothes of the user and after it has served its purpose for its intended use, it can be easily removed and thrown away.
An object of this invention is to provide an improved bait station that is characterized as simple to use, free from contamination and inexpensive.
A feature of this invention is that the bait station is made from one piece formed in a syphon with a bulbous end and a stem end with an opening in the stem communicating with the interior of the bulbous end. The liquid insecticide is syphoned into the bulbous end and the stem is cut-off so that the bulbous end serves as the bait station.
The foregoing and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings.